BOWL BONANZA
A look at where Texas teams (and LSU) will play in bowl games
SportsMap Staff
Dec 2, 2018, 2:58 pm
Sam Ehlinger and the Longhorns will face Georgia. Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images
The bowl games are set, and the playoffs will feature Alabama vs. Oklahoma and Clemson vs. Notre Dame. But there are also six Texas schools and LSU playing in bowl games. Here is who they play, when they play and how the matchups look:
Saturday, Dec. 15
New Mexico Bowl (2 p.m., ESPN): North Texas vs. Utah State. North Texas finished off a 9-3 season with a win over UTSA and their reward is facing a very good Utah State team that went 10-2 and just missed out making the Mountain West title game. The Mean Green will be up against it.
Saturday, Dec. 22
Armed Forces Bowl (3:30 p.m., ESPN): Houston vs. Army. The Cougars late collapse lands them in a difficult spot against a really good Army team. The Cougars will be without Ed Oliver against a team that can run the football. No D'Eriq King, either, which will make for a tough matchup for the Cougars.
Tuesday, Dec. 26
Cheez-It Bowl (9 p.m. ESPN): TCU vs. Cal. The Horned Frogs had a dissapointing season but won their last two to garner bowl eligibilty and will look for a decent win over an improved Cal team.
Wednesday, Dec. 27
Texas Bowl (9 p.m., ESPN) Baylor vs. Vanderbilt. The Bears had a surprising season, earning bowl eligibilty on the last week of the season. They will face a Vanderbilt team they should be able to compete with.
Monday, Dec. 31
Taxslayer Bowl (6:30 p.m., ESPN): Texas A&M vs. NC State. The Aggies get a decent matchup with NC State after an eight win debut for Jimbo Fisher. This should be a good opportunity for the Aggies.
Tuesday, Jan. 1
Fiesta Bowl (1 p.m., ESPN): LSU vs. UCF. The Tigers get to be the Group of Five team that faces UCF this year. The Golden Knights will be without their starting QB, but they still thumped Memphis without him. An intriguing matchup.
Sugar Bowl (8:45 p.m., ESPN): Texas vs. Georgia. The Longhorns get a New Year's Six bowl despite losing in the Big 12 title game, and their reward is a Georgia team that might lack motivation considering they were close to making the playoff.
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Jose Altuve powers Astros past Tigers with two-run homer
Apr 28, 2025, 10:25 pm
Through the first month of the season, the Houston Astros' offensive struggles are becoming impossible to ignore — especially when compared to division rivals like the Seattle Mariners.
Isaac Paredes currently leads the Astros with a .392 slugging percentage, which ranks just 88th overall in Major League Baseball. Jeremy Peña isn't far behind, sitting 93rd at .388. For context, not one Astro has cracked the .400 slugging mark, while the Mariners boast four players who have — though a few haven’t officially qualified for leaderboards.
Power outage
The power disparity is stark. The Mariners have already blasted 42 home runs this season — double the Astros’ total of just 21. Houston, in fact, ranks 27th in home runs, 26th in OPS, and 26th in slugging across all of Major League Baseball, dead last among AL West teams. Paredes is the only Astro with at least four home runs, while the Mariners have six such players.
The lineup issues are even deeper. Christian Walker and Yainer Diaz — both expected to provide significant offensive contributions — are batting under .200, placing them among the 22 worst averages in the league. Jose Altuve, typically a steady force, is also underperforming by his standards. His .310 on-base percentage is his lowest since the shortened COVID season, and he has only managed five extra-base hits thus far.
Should Joe Espada consider playing Altuve at second base more often?
With second base production sagging — Mauricio Dubón and Brendan Rodgers have failed to provide much punch — the Astros could face a difficult decision: increase Altuve’s time at second to open up opportunities for bats like Chas McCormick or Zach Dezenzo. While the organization has preferred to manage Altuve’s workload at second base carefully, their hand may be forced if the offense continues to sputter. At this point, another month of this and all bets are off.
On the pitching side, there’s some potential good news. Lance McCullers Jr. is nearing a return after an impressive rehab start and could rejoin the team during their series in Chicago. Meanwhile, Forrest Whitley has suffered another setback with a knee injury. A major question for Houston is which of the two — McCullers or Whitley — will be able to make a real impact this season. Given Whitley's struggles to stay healthy, McCullers appears the safer bet.
Don't forget the Astros' biggest goal for this season
Behind the scenes, the Astros’ front office remains focused on a bigger-picture goal: getting under the luxury tax threshold. With several large contracts set to come off the books after the season, Houston appears committed to resetting financially — even if that means enduring some growing pains in the short term.
For now, though, the Astros find themselves in unfamiliar territory: chasing the division both in the standings and at the plate.
We have so much more to discuss. Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday!
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